Fountain pen



Filed May 25, 1934 W. O. TASSIE FOUNT AIN PEN 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan, 14,1936, W O, TASSE I 2,27,656

FOUNTAIN PEN Filed May 25, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 inmx Patented Jan. 14, 1936 PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN PEN William O. Tassie, St.

Boniface, Manitoba, Ganada, assignor of one-half to James Armstrong Richardson, Winnipeg,

Manitoba, Canada Application May 25, 1934, Serial No. 727,535

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in fountain pens and an object of the invention is to provide a fountain pen which is filled by external suction means consisting of a capping sleeve capable of being rendered air tight and slidable against the external surface of the barrel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fountain pen of which the whole barrel may be filled with writing fluid.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fountain pen having a minimum number of wearing parts.

A further object is to provide a pen which consists of fewer parts than other fountain pens at present in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fountain pen, the reservoir of which may be filled with only one stroke and with less labor and less loss of time than has hitherto been possible.

A further object is to provide a pen which will not occasion the necessity for new equipment incidental to its manufacture.

A further object is to provide a pen which can be manufactured more cheaply than any existing pen.

A further object is to provide a pen which can be made of the same material practically throughout.

A further object is to provide a fountain pen having no metal, soft rubber or fragile material in its assemblage.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fountain pen which may be automatically prevented from overflowing when filled to capacity.

A still further object of my improved fountain pen is to provide a barrel which will not have to be internally machined.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a fountain pen which can be varied in respect of the diameter to suit the needs of various writers.

With the foregoing objects in view and such other objects as may appear as the specification proceeds, my invention consists in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. l is a central longitudinal sectional view of my fountain pen but showing the nib in full.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my fountain pen.

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of the valve, valve cap and associated parts.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of the external collar and annular packing groove.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

Considerable inventive ingenuity has been expended upon improvements in self filling fountain pens since their introduction. To the best of my knowledge, however, all these improvements have consisted of means for creating a vacuum within the reservoir of the pen either by means of an internal piston or by various forms of rubber sacs.

My invention, however, consists of a radical departure from any of the foregoing embodiments and includes a cylindrical barrel portion A sui rounding a writing fluid reservoir B, a capping sleeve C of greater diameter than the external diameter of the barrel and slidable thereon in association with a barrel circumscribing collar D.

A nib in together with the usual feeding device (not shown) is provided at one end of the barrel and at the opposite end is a screw cap I I having an obliquely disposed passageway l2 extending therethrough. The upper end of "the barrel is internally threaded as at l3 to receive the valve cap and it will be observed that by partially unscrewing the valve cap, the passageway l2 which emerges onto the thread of the valve cap, becomes exposed, thereby permitting the entry of air into the valve.

It will be observed that the interior M of the valve cap is in the form of a truncated cone and within this cone is a similarly shaped float valve l5 provided with a central orifice l6. Upon the periphery of the valve cap extending inwardly is a small projection H, for the purpose of preventing the float valve barrel when the quantity of writing fluid in the reservoir is not sufliciently high to keep the valve afloat.

The barrel circumscribing collar D is composed of the same material as the main portions of the fountain pen, viz. barrel capping sleeve, etc. and is provided with two opposed threads I8 and I9 tapering outwardly from the barrel towards each other and spaced apart by means of a flattened band portion 20.

An annular recess 2| extends around the inner face of the member D and this recess is provided with a leather packing ring 22 which is inserted within the recess. Thus the collar D forms a substantially air tight member slidable .upon the barrel.

The capping sleeve C is slightly shorter in length than the reservoir but is of greater diameter. It is provided at its open end with an internally threaded portion 23 and at a point adl5 from falling into the jacent its opposite end, I provide two diametrically opposed air holes 24. The usual band 25 embraces the lower end of the capping sleeve for the purpose of lending reinforcement thereto.

The threaded end of the sleeve is engageable with either of the threads [8 or l9 of the collar D. Thus, when the pen is not in use, the sleeve will be in engagement with the threads I 8 and in use, will be in engagement with the threads I 9. The threads l8 and I9 have been tapered for reasons which are now apparent, namely, in order to prevent the capping sleeve from sliding from its appointed position on the barrel when the pen is in use or out of use. When the capping sleeve is only slightly turned onto the threads, it is possible to pull the collar up and down with comparative ease. When, however, the threads are turned to a greater extent upon the collar, it becomes increasingly difficult to move same due to its binding action upon the barrel.

The manipulation of my pen will now be explained.

When it is desired to fill the pen, assuming the pen to be uncovered and the capping sleeve covering the opposite end of the barrel to the nib, the sleeve is unscrewed from the member D and the valve cap H turned to expose the external orifice of the passageway l 2. It should be noted, however, that if desired, the collar D may be drawn completely 01f the barrel with the capping sleeve preparatory to unscrewing the valve cap.

Having unscrewed the valve cap, the capping sleeve and collar are rammed down and the pen inserted in the ink. The forefinger and thumb are placed over the orifices 24, thereby rendering the sleeve air tight. The sleeve and the collar are now drawn upwardly and writing fluid is sucked into the reservoir B by the vacuum caused through the upward travel of the air tight sleeve which interconnects with the reservoir through the temporarily opened passageway l2.

When the writing fluid in the reservoir reaches the float valve, said valve rises and seals the internal orifice of the passageway I2, thus preventing the overflowing of ink through the passageway into the sleeve. The pen having now been filled, the forefinger and thumb are removed from the orifices 24 and if desired, the collar withdrawn from the barrel. The valve capis screwed tight and the pen is full. 7

To cover the pen when out of use, the capping sleeve is slacked off the thread I9 and the sleeve and collar or the sleeve alone removed from the barrel. It can then be placed over the opposite end of the barrel and the threaded end of the sleeve jammed tight against the tapered thread I 8.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that my invention utilizes an external method of filling a fountain pen which is completely at variance with the methods used hitherto.

A further feature of this pen is that those persons who prefer a slender pen, may tighten the collar against the barrel fairly high up while those who prefer a penof greater diameter, will have the sleeve drawn downwardly so that the collar is adjacent the base of the reservoir.

The reduced cost of manufacturing such a pen as I have described, will be clearly seen. As previously mentioned, it has fewer parts in its assemblage and among other advantages, the interior of the barrel does not require machining such as is the case with piston filled pens. The only part that can possibly become worn is the leather packing ring '22 and obviously this will last a great many years before replacement is required.

Since various modifications can be made in the above invention, and many apparently wide- 10 ly different embodiments of same, made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that allmatter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire only such limitations placed thereon as are specifically expressed in the accompanying claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Improvements in fountain pens comprising, in combination with a barrel, reservoir and writing point, means for drawing fluid into said reservoir comprising a capping sleeve provided with orifices capable of being manually sealed, a threaded collar encircling the exterior of said barrel, a packing ring within said collar, a valve cap upon said pen, a float valve within said valve cap, a passageway extending through said valve cap, said passageway permitting communication between the interior and exterior of said valve upon manual operation thereof, said float valve acting to seal the interior orifice of said passageway when the level of the float within the reservoir reaches said valve.

2. Improvements in fountain pens comprising, in combination with a barrel, reservoir and writing point, means for inducing suction within the pen comprising a closured capping sleeve, a barrel encircling collar slidable upon said pen and means for attaching said capping sleeve 'to said collar 40 upon either side thereof.

3. Improvements in fountain pens comprising, in combination with a barrel, reservoir and writing point, means for inducing suction within the pen comprising a closured capping sleeve having orifices therein slidable upon the barrel of the pen, a valve seating threadably engaged with the barrel of the pen, a float valve provided with an orifice within said seating and a passageway communicatable between the reservoir and the exterior of the pen upon the unscrewing of said valve seating.

4. Improvements in fountain pens comprising, in combination with a barrel, reservoir and writing point, means for inducing suction Within the pen comprising a closured capping sleeve, a barrel circumscribing element slidable upon said barrel attachable to said capping sleeve, a valve seating in threadable engagement with said barrel, a float valve provided with an orifice held within said valve seating and a passageway within said valve seating communicatable between said reservoir and the exterior of said pen upon the unscrewing of said valve seating.

5. The device as claimed in claim 3 in which 05 said capping sleeve is provided with a slidable annular recessed collar portion at the lower end thereof and attached thereto and packing within said recessed collar portion.

WILLIAM O. TASSIE. 

